This paper is the first in a series about machine learning – the impact, use cases, and technologies – that drive the entire growth and use worldwide.
What matters to machine learning analysts is the ability to get the right information from the data and use all the know-how and tools to get an answer. Machine learning at RightData aims to do just that with a speedy and flexible approach to machine learning. The impact – better learning, faster decision-making, more valuable outcomes.
Machine learning (ML) is simply the capability of a machine to imitate intelligent human behavior and represents a subfield of the greater field of artificial intelligence (AI). In fact, ML systems can be used to perform complex tasks similar to how humans solve problems. ML also allows software applications to learn and predict outcomes without being explicitly programmed to do so – the algorithms use historical data as input to predict new output values and turn data into information, and information into knowledge.
Over the last decade, advances in data storage and processing have made it possible for all organizations to make major advances in the field of data science. Using statistical methods, what came next were ML algorithms–recipes for training data – used to make classifications or predictions. This enabled organizations to uncover key insights from massive volumes from a variety of data sources, as well as decision-making impacting key growth metrics and outcomes. In short, the impact of ML is faster decision-making and better outcomes.
There is an impact on the job front as well, due to the lack of data scientists worldwide. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, data science jobs are expected to grow by over 25 percent by 2026 and it will not be easy to fill the demand driving the need for integrated data-ML software platforms to do the heavy lifting.
The different types of machine learning can becategorized by how an algorithm learns. For example, IBM recently outlined these approaches providing "learning” using machines:
In the diagram below, proft.me aptly lays out a comprehensive ML landscape, but the type of algorithm data scientists choose depends on type of data and the type of learning outcome for the business goal.
Probably the best understanding may come from a Towards Data Science referenced diagram below, showing the ontology of the approaches as they relate to solutions. This shows the practical approach to the main models as well. Note the ontology of how problems are solved relative to chosen machine learning approach. This is where the data scientist starts – determining what approach is best for the learning outcome needed.
Data scientist approach problem solving in a systematic way and these core steps can be used as repetetive and iterative tasks. This forms the basis of doing the data work necessary to get to a machine “learned” answer.
Data Collection: The first step is to collect/gather the data. This generally can come from any source and is part of a data workflow process.
Data Preparation: Data needs to be prepared or “wrangled” for cleaning and preparing the unorganized, missing or noise from the data into an optimal format, extracting notable features and performing dimensionality reduction.
Train Model: We then move to the modeling stage where the machine learning algorithm leverages sophisticated mathematical algorithms to learn from the historic data. This is where the choices made for the correct algorithm begin to come into action.
Evaluation: Validation/Testing for the model is done to see how well it performs – a vital part of seeing how the trained model works under testing.
Parameter Tuning: As the ML progresses, we need to improve the model by fine-tuning parameters to maximize their performance.
Prediction: Finally, the trained model is used to answer the questions. So, this prediction step is where we get to see the point of all this work – an outcome or decision – where the value of machine learning is realized.
When the Dextrus software platform was conceived, the goal was to unify the data wrangling and machine learning experience for both data scientists and business users. This has been realized now where every data practitioner can learn from their precious data products – all within the same data-machine learning workflow.
ML Studio was built into the Dextrus platform as a no-code solution, providing an easy-to-use component that simplifies machine learning tasks for quicker outcomes. Dextrus enables users to build machine learning intelligence to grow their business as well as helping build classification models that allow software applications to become more accurate at predicting outcomes. More info can be seen at https://getrightdata.com/Dextrus-product
Further, Dextrus can be used in a wide variety of applications and can solve real-world problems such as customer behavior prediction, document classification, spam filtering, product categorization, customer churn prediction, and credit card fraud detection. It is a powerful and flexible machine learning software.
The data flow moves from the source, right into Dextrus, where with only a few clicks, enables the user to build a model covering the core tasks in machine learning. Below is the workflow of Machine Learning in ML studio. Note the four elements of data preprocessing, selecting estimator, tuning estimator, and a new data predictor.
The future of machine learning, in a word, would be easier. It might not have seemed plausible a few years ago that something so powerful and complex could be utilized for decisions every day across all aspects of learning. Today, machine learning makes it possible to move faster with more accurate outcomes – all with the impact of greater customer satisfaction and competitive advantage. Data scientists are fast becoming multi-skilled with both statistical and machine learning talents.
Use cases continue to grow, with innovation at the machine learning level. One major future need will surround the data management or wrangling, where the need for accurate trusted data will be paramount as ML systems are fed for outcomes.
At the human level, it is all about unifying data scientists and business users for the even greater data revolution underway today. The combination of data wrangling and machine learning, on an integrated platform is happening at a quick pace.
Machine learning is vast and without the tools and know-how, it is exceedingly difficult to get accurate results from the data. With Dextrus ML Studio, the whole machine learning process is simplified with the aim of no-code to build models and solve real business problems quickly.
Rama Ryali serves as Vice President of Product Evangelism and Strategy at RightData, a thought leader for modern data. Throughout his career, dedicated to data management and implementation, Rama served as CTO and has directed many multi-million-dollar data management initiatives. rama@getrightdata.com
Bindu serves as Senior Data Scientist and is developing RightData's machine learning platform, Dextrus ML Studio. She has been instrumental in the development of data science components and architecture surrounding machine learning strategies. She holds a Master’s degree in Data Science and Business Analytics from Wayne State University. bindu.bharatha@getrightdata.com
RightData is a trusted total software company that empowers end-to-end capabilities for modern data, analytics, and machine learning using modern data lakehouse and data mesh frameworks. The combination of Dextrus software for data integration and the RDt for data quality and observability provides a comprehensive DataOps approach. With a commitment to a no-code approach and a user friendly user interface, RightData increases speed to market and provides significant cost savings to its customers. www.getrightdata.com
